Abstract:

Addressing the digital literacy skills of trainee teachers is a key theme for educators who need to support learning in a digitally-rich world. Part of this theme, audio-visual media, provides a rich medium for teaching and learning. Video can effectively communicate complex information to a learner and can assist trainee teachers when reflecting on their own practice. Rather than having to rely on an individual’s recall of an event, it can be used as a basis for reflection and professional growth (using the stimulated recall research method). The inclusion of video capture, sharing and editing skills in the training of novice teachers is designed to equip trainees with a set of digital literacy skills that will enable them to exploit video in order to create motivating, memorable and inclusive learning experiences for their learners.

Following on from an initial pilot study, where trainee teachers were introduced to video as a channel for reflection, the paper reports on the next stage of the study. Working in inter-disciplinary groups, the aim of the next stage was to enable the trainees to develop a greater understanding of subject knowledge enhancement that draws on their subject knowledge but applies it in an interdisciplinary way.

The study investigates the extent to which trainees have benefited from video-based reflection, even when done apart from a group. With the inclusion of a reflection framework, (that trainees are able to download and include in their e-portfolios), the study explores to what extent individuals using this mode of reflection have provided longer and more specific reflections than when writing a reflection using memory alone. The study also explores to what extent has the inclusion of video helped trainee teachers focus their attention on their students' learning rather than on their own experiences.

Keywords:

Digital literacy, video, Reflection, Trainee teachers.